My neighbor goes to school. That’s not so unusual. Many people have neighbors who attend school. But my neighbor has already rear a family and she is enrolled in the School of Nursing, Brunswick Junior College.
Today, it’s not even unusual for mature adults to return to school. But in this day, when the women’s magazines especially publicize the woes of the “empty nest syndrome,” it is reassuring to know personally a woman, at this point in her life, doing something positive.
“It was hard for me to go back with limited educational background,” she explains. “At times, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep y head above water. Two teachers especially had a way of sensing my fears and would encourage me. It’s amazing how a kind word can keep you going.” Her face is very reflective as she remembers.
She continues, “I was a nurse’s aide off and on while the children were small. But, I’ve always wanted to be a nurse. I would see someone in a nurse’s uniform and wish it were me. After the children were grown - well almost, one’s still in high school - I decided I would go back to school and become a real nurse. I should finish summer after next.
“It’s hard to go to school and still look after a family too. When you pay your money, you want to get the most out of it and for that matter, you want to make your time count too. My family teases me about having my nose in a book all the time.” She laughs as she pantomimes holding a book and reading from side to side.
She drives to Brunswick and back five days a week. She’s enrolled in three courses this quarter. When she started, she went alone. She didn’t even try to find someone to go with her. She felt that she needed that time alone. The next quarter, two girls ask if they could have a ride. This quarter, there are five in the car pool. They enjoy their travel time together.
It’s so easy to dream dreams, to make big plans. Many of us sit around and talk a lot about what we would like to do. But, it takes real courage to make a dream become a reality. It takes courage to change from a secure routine and to travel in an opposite direction full of uncertainties.
My neighbor has gone back to school Her decision to do so is a positive statement of one who is living her life rather than just letting life happen to her.
1973
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